Method of treating gases.



c. A. WEEKS a; E. M. HUNTER. METHOD 0F TEEATINEGASEE- APELIOATION EIL'ED APE. 2'1, 1911.

1,08; .-'233 Patented Dec. 3o, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Flea I c. A. WEEKS si R'. `M. 11UN1|:BR. METHn or TBBATINQ GASES, APPLIUATIQH FILED APE. 21, `1911.

Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

SHEETS-SHEET 2.

@MKM/12 v or other suspended or associated' condensa- .'again, in other cases,

are preferably removed from the Coking or more ovensat a time 'and'bonveyed to a disaccompanying drawings whichiorm a part 'may bc the essential 'from coking ovens,

UNITEDl STATES PATENT OFFTGE.'

CHARLES A. WEEKS .AND RUDOLPH M. HUNTER, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLANA,

.ASSIGNORS TO THOMAS R. PATTON AND FREDERICK MENCKE, BOTH OF PHILA- DELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

Loser:m

Application filed April 2l,

To all whom it may .concern .j

Beit -known that We, CHARLES A. lVEnKs and RUDOLPH M. HUNTER, both cit-izensof the United States, and residents of the city and county of Philadelphia and State of ennsylvania, have invented an Improvement in Methods of Treating Gases, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention has reference to a method of treating gases and 4consists of certain imfollowing specification and shown in the thereof. A

The object of our invention is to' provide a method andV means which shall be adapted t'o subject. waste or other gases from industrial or other processes to treatmentA in such manner that the said gases are caused to How -under suction produced by our inven` tion and, during such flow, be subjected to condensing and scrubbing actions, preferably with .densicaticn or. compression, whereby the gases may Vbe puriedv and the ley-products previously contained in the said gases, may be recovered.

In some uses of our invention the sulfur ble by-products such as ammonia, 'may be recovered and the purified gases allowed to goto waste, whereas in other cases the gases product to be preserved after purification; and yet, both the byproducts andf the gases are'to beuti'lized after being separated. i

In the practice of and utilized our invention, the gases other ovens or sources,l under" a` partial vacuum and atl approximately Vthe lowest temperature at which they. are formed in the first part of the destructive distillation; and in the particular case of the products such 'gases would be thOS/e ,Containing tar, sulfur, ammonia and cyanogen. These products, from the distillation of the-coal in .thejcoking ovens, are exhausted in a positive 4'manner from one or tance, where they arecooled and condensed by actidn of water, into `Contact with which they :.rebrought; .by .the 7"mpifoved appav rat-us herei te I describedj,said.action'ybe `gases are treated a" posi,

specification of Letters Patent.v

Patented nee. so, isis, 1911. Serial No. 622,463.

tive washing' or scrubbing and preferably 'with densification, said densification being mechanically produced, rlhe object of the densitication is twofold, namely, to more readily induce the condensation of the condensable gases and to insure more intimate contact. with the washing water for precipil tating `or, dissolving out the byfproducts.

y conducting the destructive distillation under a partial vacuum and hence Without back pressure, and more especially without the necessit of draft due to combustion, we are enable to cause the generation of the gasesfroxn the' coal, t-o take place more readily andrapidlyandl all of the gases produced may be collected and subjected to the process' for the recovery of by-products- More specifically considering our invention as applied tothe purpose of recovery in connection with the commercial coking of coal as an example of the practice of our process, we arrange the ovens in a row and adapt them' to beoperated in pairs, that is.

to say one; oven of' a pair to be under process of destructive distillation while the other oven `of the pair is having lits contents quenched, discharged and is being charged, and vice versa; the products from the destructive distillation being conveyed from the trunnel head of the oven by a suitable conduit or main; and the products in said main being drawn away from the ovens under suctiong due to a partial vacuum cre- .ated'by 'the' pecial construction of the lcondensing and recovering appliances. After the first/partof the coal distillation has been completed and the tire has been put under -way 1n the recharged other oven of the p ir,

done, `the contents are'qucnched and the.

cooled coke product pushed The oven is then recharged and the process repeated. In this manner the recovery process, vasa wl1ole,.is conducted in a continuous-manner, jalt-hough the ovens of a outI of the oven.

sing' alternately heated "Land which distil from the coal in the first part alone of its treatment, to the recovery apparatus, it isevident that the said apparatus'will not be compelled to have capacity for handling the later gas'es also, suchgases being largely carbonio oxid and very lean in recoverable products. If, for any reason, it isdesired to utilize these later gases, preliminary to' quenching, it should be done 2o by a second set of conduits so asnot to requirethe1n to be passed through the recovery plant.

The distillates, which convey the recoverable values, are rst separated from the tar and then passed through a lhydraulic seal and partly cooled and are then passed to thecondenser and washer, where they are further cooled-to a temperature' of about 85 A (Fahrenheit. `We may assume that the temaop'erature within the oven reaches as high as 2600 or 2700 degrees Fahrenheit and thel ases leaving the trunnel heads are from 1500 to 2000 degrees Fahrenheit and at this temperature are startedl on their travel to thel condenser and washer. The gases are somewhat cooler by the time they reach the hydraulic seal or cooler but practically none of the distillates are condensed except the tar.Y In passing through the hydraulic seal o the temperature of the gases is reduced to about 120o to 130o Fahrenheit and at this temperature enters the condenser and washer; and in passing through this apparatus the temperature is gradually lowered to about 75 Fahrenheit. From the condenser and washer the gases are allowed to go' t waste or may, in their purified condition, be utilized for operating explosive engines, for heating purposesor illuminating after having been impregnated with hydrocarbons in the usual Way.

During the reducing of the temperatures of the gases and thetreatment to the water, theby-products are extracted from the gases and recovered in the water, but care should benhad not to reduce the temperatures too much or'too suddenly or otherwise undesirable quantities of lamp black and naphthalenewill be formed which, while not be- BO ing of value as a by-product, acts as an objectionable clog to the pipes and machinery. Lamp black is necessarily found in all. coal tar produced by carhonization, 'lout the natural cpiantity to be expected may be objectionably 'increased if care is not exercised against sudden reductions in temperature when free carbon is present and before the carbon has combined with other ele- I ments.

. Naphthalene is a hydrocarbon and pro-, p0 duced as a distillate of coal at a high temperature and finds its way into the tar. Its tendency to form flaky deposits of hard nature when cooled is objectionable and while it may be removed by separate treatment of 7 5 the gases before the by-products are eX- tracted, its objection may be considerably reduced by avoidance of sudden reductions in temperature of the gases, such naphthalene as maybe formed may be removed with the tar.

Aside from the recoveries of the tar and its contained compounds, the most important of the by-products recoverable from coal distillation by our process is ammonia, g5 this amounting to about nine gallons of 615 Twaddell, and twelve gallons of 3'1" Twaddell .ammoniacal liquor per ton of coal used.

Thev recovery of tar approximates 19112 pounds from the ton of coal` so employed. g5 It is, of course, to be understood that sultur and other products may be equally recovered, but the presence of these substances depend upon the composition of the materials being treated in the ovens and in g5 giving the use of our invention in connection with the making of coke we do not in- 'tend'to restrict ourselves thereto.

In the condensing and Washing or scrubloing treatment,we produce a partial vacuum which, acting through 'the hydraulic seal, sucks the gases from the ovens, thereby facilitating ,the distillati'onprocess and enabling it to be carried on `at a lower temperature. Moreover, by inducing the gases to dowhroug'h the main under a tendency to rafc'faction, there 'isvless liability to depo-4 sition of carbon and naphthalene, this of course, due to the fact that the temperature in the main near'the ovens is relativelyquite high. The partial vacuum prevents all cholng of the conduits and precipitation of lamp black or carbon deposit and in general reduces the time required to change the oven charge to coke. More especially, is the use of the partial vacuum important 'in extracting the gases, in that it enables the distillation to take place and the ley-products to be collected at lower temperature than where natunal drafts are employed. Inthis lway 12o not only are more icy-products per tonof coal secured, `but those by-products,sueh as fsul'lur, which comes off with the first distil" lates in the roastingand before internal combu'stion actually begins, may be recovgred instead of being allowed to go to waste,as heretofore. The partial vacuum is produced in our invention by a 'revolving cylinder having its.v

interior formed with ahelical division, the i A through the 'pitchfof which decreases from the intake end to the discharge end, said cylinder being partly submerg? in water and rotated at preferably a slig it angle, and having, furthermore, its intake end'and its discharge end The operathe gases in rapid succssionjrom the intake o1-"vacuum chamber and transfer them to the discharge chamber, said gases during passage being subjected to the cooling, condens ing and washing or scrubbing action to separate the recoverable products. During this treatment, the gases are compressed so as to be more thoroughly condensed'and washed and further, so-as to be forcibly discharged water at the discharge end.

Our invention will be better understood by referencek to the accompanying drawings,

1n which: I Figure 1 1s an elevation of apparatus 1n which to carry into practice our improved' process; Fig. 21s a cross section of the coking ovens; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the coking ovens; Fig. 4 isa longitudinal sectional elevation of our improved means for con'- densing and washing the gases and creating the partial vacuum under which they circulate; and Fig. 5 isa perspective viewof one end the cylinder of the condenser and Washer# g "2lfrepresent the furnaces or ovens from Whichthegases to be treated are taken; as shown these ovens `are ofthe forni used rfor y cfokingy coal. vThey have side openings 5 through which -the coke is discharged, said openings being closedby doors 4 during the @cking operation. The dome or central por` tjoir 'of the ovens have trunnel heads 3 ovens' and `by These ovens are arranged 1n a row whichliave their through which the gases escape from the which the ovens are charged. and may becliarged from theusuallarry (not shown) which runs upon the track to one side of the -trunnel heads. d

t G is a`longitudinal gas flue or main and is lochted'preferably on about the level of the top vof the ovens,`though we do not restrict.

ourselve'sinf this respechlThis main 6A is provided at'intervals in its length with upward branchopenings 7 upon which are pi'voted' the swinging sections 'of pipe'v 8 free ends 9 curved down'- ward and adapted to form a tight joint with the trun'nel heads 3 of theovens. There is che'of'these radially adjustable pipes 8 for each pair of ovens' and so positioned that its 'rases fronrone oven are t end Qhiay ,be shifted over the trunnel head Sfof leither of ysaid ovens, whereby when the being drawn oil lrough the pipe 8 into the main 6 the gases from .the other oven are allowed to pass to the atmosphere.' The' swinging pipe sections 8 may be supported and guided by the cas v.With a tar collecting where the shaft the movement may be facilitated by use of the handle l0.

The end ofthe main 6 may be provided trap 4I if so desired to collect the tar instead of passing it into the hydraulic seal 14. The tar may be drawn oit1 from the trap from time to time by a suitable drain pipe having a valve and indicated at 40. The pipe 6, at its end, turns downward and passes into theseal tank 14 to form the seal by having its lower open end 13 dipping into the water, the level of which is indicated by a dotted line. The extent of this water seal may be made to suit the requirements. The hot gases in passing through the main 6 and then.

through thewater are very materially lowered in temperature as before stated, so that they will be in better condition4 for treatfvv ment in the exhausting condenser and scrubber.

The cooled gases pass by pipe 16 from the hydraulic seal into the top of the .vacuum chamber 31 Within the tankqlof the`com bined exhausting condenser and rscrubber. Arranged within the tank 17 is a longitudinal cylinder 19 open at the end 27 and closed and4 perforated at the end 28; said cylinder being further provided with an axial shaft 2O and a helical division 25 extending from the'walls of the cylinder to the shaft which forms a helical passage 26 from one end of L the cylinder to theother. This apparatus is adapted to rotate and constitutes an, exhausting conveyer device for the ases. It will be noticed that the pitch oft e helical convolutions 25 decrease from the open end i 27 to the other; or perforated end '28' and thisv variation in the pitc may be gradual or otherwise as preferred. The shaft 20 is preferably journaled in bearings 21 and supported at an angle to the horizontal as shown. Stuffing boxes are provided to pre-4 vont leakage ofthejwater from the-tank extends through the bearings V The shaft may be driven by any suitable means and in the particular construction shown, -itv is driven by an engine 24 which is connected with the shaft by suitable univer# Sal joint 24a. i' I 30-`is a partitionwhich separates the recciving chamber' lnfrom the discharge `chamber 32 and extends down into the wate'r within thetank 17 upon each side of the' -cylinder and at its lower part it forms afv connection, with a' groove band 29 ar' ranged'about the conveyer 19. Thegases' which `are delivered the discharge chamber 32 are led oli' byfa pipelS and may be allowed to go .to waste or may be utilized for operatinor or for any purpose 'where puriiie useful.. f'

` If desired, 'the gases may be carbure-ated.

from the conveyer intoV as 'engine-SV, :sesame les by use of oilv and fixing chambers similar t the well known process of making water-v [o ferential flanges 34 arranged at intervals along its lengthand preferably intermediate 'ot the battle plates 33.-A The plates 34 on the cylinder act as batlies to direct the gasesnpward and the fixed platesB- act as batiles to proectthe gases downward. It will be understood that as the conveying lcylinder 19 rotates, its outer surfacewill be wet with the water andthis 'wetting will also be upon the circumferential baffle plates 34. As the 2Q gases enter. by the intake pipe 16 they will be caused to travel as indicated by the arrows 'in reaching the intake end 27 ojtl the rotary conveyer. .During the passage of the gases from the intake 1G to the end 27 ot' the conveyer, they-will be caused to come in contact With the wet outer surface ot' the cylinder 19 and the batl'les 34 and-Will be ,more or less cooled and Washed so that less duty will be required of Lthe eonveyer 19.

which transfers thel gases from the chamber 81 to the chamber 32. "The batlies 33and plates 34 may be arranged in any other suit-v able or convenient manner so long as theyj operate to present to the gases moving Wet.

3x5-surfaces and guide. the gases againstfsaidl wet surfaces in. passing from the ,intake flue 1G to the intake end ot the rotary conv eyfe,i 4

The end ot the tank 17 is p-rovidedjwithA a largo head 23 which is oi suilicient diamee ter' to permit the withdrawal oft-he ,rotary4 conveyer, if from any cause such as. would require repairs, it is desired to remove the same. The bottom of the tank 17 ,maybe,

provided. with a plurality ot vertically eX- tending plates 35 which terminate some difstance trom one end oi the tank 'so as topro` vide a plurality ot' longitudinal grooved portions adjacent to the bottom of ,the tank" and communicating with a transverse pas` EOsage 36 which may discharge through a valved outlet 37. These *plates 35 operate 'to produce quiescent bodiesiotl Water adjacent to thebottom ot' the tank and assistA in permitting the'precipitated matters teaccumulate inA the bottoml and'not be dis. Yturbedby thcrotation of the ce-nveyer and scrubber; These longitudinalv plates 35 are indicated'in Figs. l-and 4. The apparat-us .herein shown may be operated as follows: (lonsideaing' a pair ot ovens 2, while thecokeis'being coml'ilrtedv and lceoled.a1id discharged from one oven and the said oven again charged, the gases Q from the other-oven arc being sucked ott.

into the main 6 and conveyed to the seal and rareted gases enterin .orf a pressure above the atmosphere before- `better scrubbingaction owing to the greater exhaustiner and scrubbing devicesL The operation ci? the rotary conveyer 19 is such that when the same is rotated at a propervelocity the gases are sucked from the ovens through the main 6 and discharged from the 70 pipe '18, said rotary conveyer and scrubber producing a partial vacuum inthe chamber 3l and said vacuum eX-t'endin through the pipes up to the ovens s o that t e gases from said ovens may be drawn oit andv ro erly treated without relying upon any otllieriuncv tion to be performed in said ovens other than the production of the gases by the chemical reactions which take place therein. The rotation of the rotary conveyer ,and scrubber 19 operates to vreceive large bodies of the.v gases at the intake end 27 and to thenseal said bodies of gases successively and 'in a rapid manner propel the said gases throu h the. conveyor land above the surface of tbe' water contained therein and being circulated through the same. In this manner the.- gases which are conveyed throughthe rotary eonveyer are moreor less gradually ..com. pressed according tothe reduction iliraibicalj capacity of the spaces 26 formed betweengthe spirals of the helical divisionl26, andthis-.vc propelling of. the gases 'through the confveyer is performed in a mostpositivetandf etlectu'almanner. During the passage of 95 V the. `conveyer over which they are-"confined, as well as by-the scrubbing act-ion;A which is produced upon the gasesy by thegmovpingl 10') metallic wet surfaces of the conveyeritse Furthermore, Sdu-ring thisl operation, -the at .the end 27 aie brought to a condition of densitication which approximates atmospheric pressure 10'5 they leave the discharge end "28 of the conveyer. This compressing of the gases simultaneously with their conveyance insures a density. Tt will also be observed that the water which is Within the rotary conveyer and employed toserub the gases'contained in the spaces-26 betweenl the spraisjand which water absorbs the ammoniaand .other substances vcapable of being absorbed or Awashed out ot the gases, is propelled through the eonveyer and dischargedtherefrom into the body of. the water within the' tank 1,7 and required to tlow from the dis'- 120 charge end along the bottom toward-the intake end r. herein it againentersy the conveyer. iVhen this water from the conveyer is commingled with the body 0f the Water' within the tank 17 and is thereby diluted', it will have less tendency to support any mat- 1 ters in suspension and these, matters will, in view of the slower travel of the Water be permitted to settle in the grooved Spaces between the plates, so that the water which 130 enters the-` intake end 27 of the rotary conveyer is in a more pure condition than is the varying' the waterivhich leaves the discharge end of the conireyer, and hence 1s' in a better condition to extract the ammoma and suspended mattersffrom the gases.

The'operation of the conveyer '19 is vei'V positive in its action upon the gases and by speed of rotation any reasonable degree of partial Vvacuum may be roduced in the intake end 3l' of the tank found desirable and ythis partial vacuum Will extend its influence all the way to the ovens or other sources from which the gases are produced. It is desirable that the'gases in the discharge chamber 32 shall exist at about atmospheric pressure Pand in some cases slightly above and this maybe readily ac- ,complished by the variable pitch construc- 25 Within the ro-A tio'n of the spiral division tary conveyer and Without impalring the capacity of the rotary conveyer to produce any predetermined extent ,bf partial'vacuum in the intake chambers 31 and the main conduit or Hue G. During Athe passage o-fthe gases through the condenser and scrubber,.the said gases are not only'cleansed and 4made to give up the ammonia and other extractable products, but are also cooled toa very material extent before being discharged from the chamber 32, the said cooling action fa cilitating the extraction of the products to be absorbed by the Water.

-When the apparatus is used in coking process, it is customary when the-oven from which the gases are being extracted has been in operation approximately twelve hours am ai@ adjustable pipe s Shan be shifted to the other oven of the pair by connection With Athe trunnel head 3 thereof, so that the gases given cil' from the said oven shall be extracted'under the partial vacuuln existing in the main flue 6, During the twelve hou-rs consumed in the extraction of the gases from this second oven, the contents of the first oven are allowed to `cool and after being quenched are discharged andthe oven recharged and the-operation repeated.

We have shown apparatus suitable for the carrying out of our improved process and 'especially in connection with coking of coal,

but it is to be understood that this apparatus may be varied Without departing from the spirit of the invention relating to the process', `and as to the apparatus 'the details thereof may be modified Withoutchanging the general construction or mode/of operation. For example, there may be a number .of helical divisions 25 to increase the n umber oit' chambers 26 in place of the use of the single helical division which isnshown tor simplicity, and it is also to be understood that the inclination of the conveycr cylinder 19 may be increased or omitted without departing from the spirit of the invention.

. lic seal treating the several bodies of the Ve, thcrefore,vdo not limit ourselves to the i as these may be details of the apparatus, changed or modied as may be found expcdient in adapting the apparatus for a particular use.

Having now described our invention What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. The herein described-process for treating gases, which consists in generating gases by chemical reaction in a practically closed coking oven, drawing said ases away from the place of generation un er the influence 'of a partial vacuum, subjecting the gases to a combined cooling condensing and scrubbing action in the presence of a body ofv Huid, and simultaneously subjecting the said gases to the action of less extent of partial vacuum as the said cooling condensing and' progresses and causing the. gases 1n separated confined bodies to travel scrubbing action over the body of fluid with gradually slow- '111g movements'commensurate with their inA creasing pressure.

2. The herein described process for treat ing gases, which consists in generating gases by chemical reaction, away from the place of drawing said gases i generation Vvunder the mfluenceof a partial vacuum, separating the,

heavy hydrocarbons'yrom the gases before cooling, passing the gases through a hydrauto reduce their temperature While maintaining the partial vacuum upon both -sides of progressive combined cooling condensing and scrubbing action in thepresence of a body of Huid, simultaneously subjecting 'the said gases to the actionof a gradually less extent of partial vacuum as the said cooling condensing and scrubbing action progresses.

3. The herein described` ing gases which consists y chemical process for treatin generating gases pressure in to a zone of the seal, subjectingthe gases to a action at one place at apressure less than atmospheric pressure, drawing oil` los a gradpally de-V I 4. The herein describedprocess for'treati ing gases which consists in simultaneously generating gases ina'plurality of; furnaces by chemical' act-ion at a pressure less than atmospheric pressure, drawing o andmixing said gases and conveitipg'themto a disi tance by the action of a partial vacuum, subdividing the mixed' gases so existing at a gases to 115 g pressure below atmospheric pressure into ing gases which consists in producing a difvterence in pressure between two chambers by maintaining' a partial vacuum in one of them, maintaining an intermittent communication between the chambers by transferring isolated bodies of gases Isuccessively from the chamber containing the partial vacuum to the other chamber at a gradually decreasing speed and subjecting said isolated bodies of gases to a cooling and scrubbing action with water, reducing the partial vacuum of the respective isolated bodies of gases during their treatment to increase the scrubbing action, supplying the gases from a source in a heated state under the partial vacuum tothe chamber in which the partial vacuum is maintained, and delivering the cooled and scrubbed gases from the other chamber in a purified and cooled condition under a pressure greatly in excess of that at which they were delivered into the chamber in which the partial vacuum exists.

G. The herein described process of continuously treating gases of colting ovens and separating by -products therefrom, which consists in alternately operating two ovens under partial vacuum and atmospheric pressure by which gases are generated in one oven while the other oven is cooling its contents discharging the same and being recharged and vice versa, maintaining a partial vacuum in a main common to both of said ovens and moving the gases therein horizontally at a pressure below atmospherlc' pressure, connecting said main alternately with said ovens so that gases will be alternately drawn oli' from the two ovens into the main under the same conditions,

maintaining a moving body otwater and isolated bodies of gases between two chambers whereby the isolated bodies of gases are transferred with such rapidity as to produce and maintainy a partial vacuum in one of theI chambers, delivering` the gases from the main into the chamber in which the partial vacuum is maintained, maintaining the partial vacuum in .the main leading to the ovens by the partial vacuum in the chamber, and depositing the by-products from the gases during the treatment of the isolated bodies of gas with the moving body of water. t, 7. The herein described process of continuously treating gases of coking ovens and separating by-products therefrom, which consists in' alternately operating two ovens.

under partial vacuum and atmospheric pressure by which gases are generated in one oven while the other oven is cooling itsvcontents discharging the same Iand being recharged and vice versa, maintaining a partial vacuum in a main common to both of said ovens, connecting said main alternately with said ovens so that gases will be alternately drawn ott from the two ovens into the main under the same-conditions, maintaining a moving body of water and isolated bodies of gases between two chambers whereby the isolated bodies oi' gases are` transferred with such rapidity as to produce and maintain a partial vacuum in one of the chambers, gradually increasingthe absolute pressure of the bodies of the gases during their transference, delivering 'the gases trom the main into the chamber in which the partial vacuum is maintained, maintaining the partial vacuum in the main leading to the ovens by the partial vacuum in the chamber,

interposing a water-seal between the gases whiol`v the partial vacuum is 'maintained lor cooling the gases and for mtaintaining the vacuum in the chamber when shifting connection of the main with the two ovens, and depositing the by'- products from the gases during the treatment ofthe isolated bodies of gas with the moving body of water.

' 8. The method of treating gases which consists of intermittently drawing the gases out of one chamber with such rapidity as to produce a partial vacuum therein, supplying hot gases to said chamber in quantity insanieient to destroy said partial vacuum, delivering the gases so drawn out ofthe said chamber into a second chamber in which a in the main and t-he gases in the chamber in I higher pressure exists, confining the bodies ofthe gases so transferred and retarding the speed of movement as their transference progresses, and during the passage of the intermittently withdrawn confined bodies of l D. J. McCosKEr, R. M. KELLY. 

